Whether he's making two of the craziest, crimson-hued characters face off against one another in the upcoming "Deadpool Vs. Carnage," taking the Merc With A Mouth through the zombie apocalypse in "Night of the Living Deadpool" or forging a new path for the Master of Magnetism in "Magneto,"Cullen Bunn certainly tackles a diverse amount of story in the Marvel Universe, especially when it comes to the X-Men's corner. In the recent debut of "Magneto," Bunn shed some light on one of the most iconic X-Men characters (hero-turned-villain-turned-hero-turned-villain-again) in the history of the Marvel U as he broke from Cyclops' "Uncanny X-Men" team to explore human/mutant relations in his own, dark fashion.

Meanwhile, the just-wrapped "Night of the Living Deadpool" explored what it would be like for Deadpool to be one of the last living souls on the entire planet in a zombie apocalypse -- and now, Bunn's shifting tone with "Deadpool Vs. Carnage," a new exploration of how Deadpool fares against one of the deadliest serial killers in the Marvel U.

Cullen Bunn joined X-Position this week to discuss his current X-Men project slate, including his inspiration for "Magneto," further exploring Deadpool in "Deadpool Vs. Carnage" and some of his future plans for both series.

Timdogg kicks off this week's X-Position with a question about outside influences on the development of Magneto in his solo series.Hey Cullen, how much was Michael Fassbender's characterization of Magneto in "X-Men: First Class" an influence to you when you started breaking down the plot for the series?

Hey, Timdogg!

Writer Cullen Bunn visits X-POSITION to keep the crazy in check on "Deadpool Vs. Carnage" and the villainy of "Magneto"EXCLUSIVE: Art by Salva Espin

You're playing with fire asking this question! On one of the forums, someone gave me a lot of trouble for mentioning "X-Men: First Class" in interviews. I guess they didn't realize that I was -- oh, I don't know -- being asked about it.

So... I might be better off just ignoring the question, right?

So yeah, the Fassbender characterization played a part in the creation of the comic. But, as I see it, so did a lot of other versions. Claremont's Magneto, especially from "God Loves, Man Kills," was an influence, for example. And I drew a lot from noir and horror and action/adventure stories that had nothing to do with Magneto. Everything from Raymond Chandler novels to the old TV show "Millennium" to the movie "Taken" to a lot of my own interpretations of the character.

Next up is Grackle, who wants to know more about Deadpool's circumstances when facing down Carnage.

It's really cool to see Deadpool and Carnage facing off, but what's the story with the rest of the Marvel U in this miniseries? Will Deadpool have any help when fighting Carnage from the greater universe's cast of characters?

Hi, Grackle.

Part of what draws Deadpool into this story is that he is the only person capable of tracking Carnage. All the other heroes are out there scratching their heads while Carnage goes along on his bloody way. But Deadpool can find him... and he wants to claim the glory for himself. So, you won't be seeing many Marvel heroes. That's not to say, however, that Deadpool won't be getting some help along the way. In fact, there's a really unexpected ally -- or group of allies, as it were -- showing up in issues #3 and 4. Dabid is curious about why Magneto decided to break from Cyclops' team in "Uncanny X-Men."I greatly enjoyed "Magneto" #1, but I'm a little confused about the events that lead into the new Magneto series. Will it be discussed in the Magneto series why Erik has chosen now to walk out on Cyclops and his X-Men after several years with the team? The 'bridge' issue of "Uncanny X-Men" seemed to indicate that Magneto was upset about Mystique's actions and what she was doing on Genosha, but I'm having a hard time making the connection as to why that would cause Magneto to abandon the X-Men so suddenly? If Magneto is so disgusted by what Mystique is doing, why isn't he making a stand against her?

Thanks for the question, Dabid.

Magneto's decision to leave the X-Men is something that will be cleared up in future issues, for sure. It's one of those situations where I was writing my first issues before the X-Men issue came out, and all I really knew was that he was leaving the group. Even if I had known lots of details, I probably wouldn't have weighed the first issue down by explaining them.

As for Mystique's actions in Madripoor, that's something Magneto will definitely circle back to -- when the time is right.

He's still upset about it. cora reef is hoping for some clarification about "Night of the Living Deadpool" and "Deadpool Vs. Carnage"Dear Mr. Bunn, I really enjoyed your "Night of the Living Deadpool" miniseries and am looking forward to "Deadpool Vs. Carnage." In the past, with your "Deadpool Killogy," each of your series flowed into the next -- but it looks like "Deadpool Vs. Carnage" is a completely different series from "Night of the Living Deadpool." Do the two connect at all?

While both have more than their share of mental issues, neither Deadpool nor Carnage are fans of the other's brand of crazyEXCLUSIVE: Art by Salva Espin

Howdy, Cora Reef! (How come none of my friends have real names?)

You're right. "Night of the Living Deadpool" and "Deadpool Vs. Carnage" are unconnected. "Night" was an alternate universe yarn, while the Deadpool/Carnage battle royale takes place in the core Marvel Universe.

Also, what are your plans in terms of the "Night of the Living Deadpool" universe? It was such a fun concept that I'd love to see it return.

I would love to further explore the "Night of the Living Deadpool" world. I think it might be kind of weird and interesting to see what happens in the aftermath of Deadpool's decisions at the end of issue #4.

What a world that would be! What was the experience like writing both "good crazy" and "bad crazy" in a single series?

So much fun! I love playing those two types of crazy off each other, exploring how they are different... and how they are similar. I like that Deadpool is disgusted by Carnage's insanity just as Carnage is disgusted by Deadpool's. Justinian is hoping for some insight into Magneto's character.How do you think Magneto views ordinary humans?

Always the humanitarian, eh, Justinian?

I definitely have my own opinions on how Magneto views humans. It's something that you'll see us expanding throughout the series. It's also something that you'll see changing as the issues progress. In the beginning, at least, he sees them as inconsequential in every way unless they pose a threat to mutants or to his mission.

How he progresses from that point will be interesting, I think. How do you think the genocide of Genosha effected Magneto's views?

Check out issue #3 for a lot more on this! Do you have any plans in the near future to deal with Magneto's outstanding family issues?

I've always planned on exploring this to some degree. I definitely want to look at those relationships -- as well as his relationship with others, such as Rogue. It will first surface from Magneto's point of view a bit, but will come to the forefront a little later. Finally, mr_infinite has a trifecta of diverse questions about Magneto, Deadpool and your dream team book.Magneto is easily one of my favorite characters in the Marvel U, and I really enjoyed your take on him for the first issue of "Magneto." It's been a while since any series focused on Magneto as the protagonist. What unexplored aspects of the character do you hope to focus on during your run?

Thank you mr_infinite!

I think the aspect of Magneto's character I'm most looking forward to is how his history (so heavily laden with tragedy and loss) colors his decisions in the present. His past haunts him -- and actually terrifies him -- and that fear can drive him to make some pretty extreme decisions. What's been your favorite part of writing Magneto so far? How does it compare to writing Deadpool?

Since wrapping the alternate universe "Night of the Living Deadpool," Bunn has kept busy with his new "Magneto" ongoing series

I've really liked the dark/noir/understated tone of the book. I feel like that's something a little different for the character. That tone will be a constant in the series. That's not to say that the stories won't get bigger. They will. But I want them to have a similar feel to what you saw in issue one.

I also really like looking at Magneto exploring new ways to use his powers.

And I like those little interviews at the beginning of the issues. You'll see more of those -- and it is something I look forward to delving into -- how different people view Magneto differently.

The book's vastly different from Deadpool. Even the darker issues of my Deadpool comics were not as dark and somber as this. Finally, as a fan of your "Fearless Defenders" series, what would your ideal ensemble book be in the Marvel Universe?

A multi-faceted answer --

Since this is X-Position, are you talking about an X-team? Because, if so, I think a dream team (for me) might be the classic Excalibur line-up. I loved that team and their off-beat adventures -- especially their early adventures.

Or -- I could say it might be fun to do a group of real misfit mutants -- Callisto, Maggot, Beak, Random, Marrow -- and a couple of other "strange" characters.

If we're talking anyone in the Marvel Universe, I'd love to revive the Midnight Sons idea, with a group of Dr. Strange (or Dr. Druid), Ghost Rider, Morbius, Blade, Mania, Man-Thing and Werewolf by Night!

And I'd always be up for a team with Valkyrie and Ren Kimura in the line-up.

Special thanks to Cullen Bunn for this week's answers!

Next week, Si Spurrier returns for his first X-Position since the launch of "X-Force" to discuss his new take on Cable's team and his recently-wrapped run on "X-Men Legacy." Have a question for Si? Send them over via e-mail with the subject line "X-Position" or if 140 character questions are more your speed, try Twitter. Either way, make sure those questions are in by Friday! Do it to it!